Author: Badalian Vardan

ENERGY MINISTRY: SECURITY LEVEL AT ARMENIAN NPP EXCEEDS THAT OF FUKUSHIMA

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2011 – 18:22 AMT

The security level at Armenian NPP exceeds that of Fukushima, Armenian
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources said.

As Armen Movsesyan stated in the parliament, Armenian NPP is the
only nuclear station in the world complete with natural circulation
regime allowing for reactor cooling within 72 hours even without a
forced circulation.

As he pointed, out, based on information about NPP-related emergency
situations worldwide, Armenian NPP develops a plan of actions to
provide the power station safety.

FCCI PRESIDENT: UAE ATTACHES IMPORTANCE TO EXPANDING COOPERATION WITH ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
May 11, 2011 – 16:37 AMT

Armenian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Territorial Administration
Armen Gevorgyan met with Mohammed Thani Al Rumaithi, the President
of the Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce & Industry, to discuss
trade and economic ties.

Gevorgyan said that the current legal and contractual basis creates
opportunities for expanding the trade turnover between the two
countries, adding it is necessary to set a business council.

Al Rumaithi said for his part the UAE attaches importance to boosting
cooperation with Armenia, including the private sector. He pointed
to opportunities of implementing tourism projects in Armenia, saying
that Dubai-Yerevan flight launched by Fly Dubai late in 2010 is of
great importance.

Gevorgyan invited Al Rumaithi to pay a visit to Armenia to familiarize
himself with business and investment opportunities, as well as
discuss certain programs, the press service of the Armenian Ministry
of Territorial Administration reported.

IMPORT OF PEDIGREE FOWLS WILL BE EXEMPTED FROM VAT

/ARKA/
May 11, 2011
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 11. / ARKA /. The Armenian parliament has passed today
in the second and final reading a set of changes and amendments to
the Law on the List of Products Imported at Zero Customs Rate and
Exempted from Excise Taxes, which change the procedure of taxation
of imported live fowls.

A deputy chief of the State Revenue Committee, Armen Alaverdian,
said the changes call for including import of pedigree fowls into
the list of products exempted from VAT. He said the existing law
exempts import of fowls from customs dues and excise taxes, however,
the State Revenue Committee has revealed a great number of violations
when non-pedigree fowls are brought in as pedigree fowls.

‘This is why the government proposes to make changes to the law and
set privileges only for import of pedigree fowls. This will help
boost pedigree poultry farming,’ Armen Alaverdian said.

According to the data of the State Revenue Committee, over 970,000
fowls were imported to Armenia in 2010, but there are no data about
the import of pedigree fowls because the current law does not provide
for such differentiation.

The Armenian cause and International law

Author: Alfred de Zayas

8 May 2011 – Issue : 934

Geneva. Murder has been a sin since Cain killed Abel, long before the
first attempts by lawyers to codify penal law, before the Hammurabi
and other ancient codes. More fundamentally, murder is a crime by
virtue of natural law, which is prior to and superior to positivistic
law. Crimes against humanity and civilization were crimes before the
British, French and Russian note condemned the Armenian massacres in
1915(1). Genocide was a crime before Raphael Lemkin coined the term in
1944 (2).

According to article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of
Justice, general principles of law are a principal source of law. Not
only positivistic law – not only treaties, protocols and charters –
but also the immanent principles of law are sources of law before the
ICJ and can be invoked. Among such principles are `ex injuria non
oritur jus’ which lays down the rule that out of a violation of law no
new law can emerge and no rights can be derived. This is a basic
principle of justice – and of common sense. Another general principle
of law is `ubi jus, ibi remedium’, where there is law, there is also a
remedy, in other words, where there has been a violation of law, there
must be restitution to the victims. This principle was reaffirmed by
the Permanent Court of International Justice in its famous judgement
in the Chorzow Factory Case in 1928. Another general principle is that
the thief cannot keep the fruits of the crime. Another principle
stipulates that the law must be applied in good faith, uniformly, not
selectively. Thus, there is no international law à la carte.

And yet there are those who claim that the Armenians have no
justiciable rights, because the Genocide Convention was only adopted
1948, more than thirty years after the Armenian genocide, and because
treaties are not normally applied retroactively. This, of course, is
a fallacy, because the Genocide Convention was drafted and adopted
precisely in the light of the Armenian genocide and in the light of
the Holocaust. Not only the Armenian Genocide but also the Holocaust
predated the Convention, and no one would question the legitimacy of
the claims of the survivors and descendants of the victims of the
Holocaust, simply because the Nazi atrocities were committed before
the entry into force of the Genocide convention. Moreover, this
argumentation is a kind of red herring, intended to confuse and to
distract attention from the legal basis of the Armenian claims.
Indeed, the rights of the Armenians do not derive from the Genocide
Convention. Rather: the Genocide Convention strengthens the
pre-existing rights of the Armenian to recognition as victims, to
restitution and compensation (3).

Articles 144 and 230 of the Treaty of Sèvres , signed on 10 August
1920 by four representatives of the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI,
recognized the rights of the survivors of the extermination campaign
against the Christian minorities of the Empire, including the
Armenians, the Greeks from Pontos, the Chaldeo-Assyrians, and affirmed
the obligation of the Turkish State to investigate these crimes and
punish the guilty. Article 144 stipulated in part:

`The Turkish Government recognises the injustice of the law of 1915
relating to Abandoned Properties (Emval-i-Metroukeh), and of the
supplementary provisions thereof, and declares them to be null and
void, in the past as in the future. The Turkish Government solemnly
undertakes to facilitate to the greatest possible extent the return to
their homes and re-establishment in their businesses of the Turkish
subjects of non-Turkish race who have been forcibly driven from their
homes by fear of massacre or any other form of pressure since January
1, 1914. It recognises that any immovable or movable property of the
said Turkish subjects or of the communities to which they belong,
which can be recovered, must be restored to them as soon as possible,
in whatever hands it may be found…’
Article 230 stipulated in part:

`The Turkish Government undertakes to hand over to the Allied Powers
the persons whose surrender may be required by the latter as being
responsible for the massacres committed during the continuance of the
state of war on territory which formed part of the Turkish Empire on
August 1, 1914. The Allied Powers reserve to themselves the right to
designate the tribunal which shall try the persons so accused, and the
Turkish Government undertakes to recognise such tribunal….’

Even though the League of Nations never established an international
criminal tribunal to try the Turkish perpetrators of the genocide
against the Armenians and other Christian minorities, numerous trials
under Turkish law did take place in Istanbul in 1919, even before the
treaty of Sèvres was signed. The Turkish authorities conducted these
trials against Ottoman officials involved in the genocide pursuant to
the Ottoman penal code. Many were convicted and three persons were
executed.

The Treaty of Sèvres, however, was not implemented, because of the
coup d’état against the Sultan conducted by a Turkish general, Mustafa
Kemal, who not only overthrew the Sultan but proceeded to wage war
against the Greeks and the British, push them out of Anatolia and
negotiate a new Peace Treaty with the Allies, which ensured impunity
for the thousands of Turkish officials, officers and soldiers involved
in the massacres.

To deny that the Armenian massacres amounted to genocide manifests
both ignorance of the facts and bad faith. There is no doubt that the
Armenian genocide was many times worse than the ethnic cleansing that
occurred in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, a crime which the UN
General Assembly in its resolution 47/121 (1992) considered `a form of
genocide’. There is no doubt that the massacres of the Armenians were
many times worse than the massacre of Srebrenica, which the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the
International Court of Justice condemned as genocide.

But let us return to the general principle of law ubi jus ibi
remedium. What is of relevance today is not the punishment of the
guilty, because no person criminally responsible for the massacres is
still alive. What is crucial is the right to the Armenian homeland,
which entails the right to return and the right to restitution and
compensation. In this context it is relevant to cite the final Report
of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights
Dimensions of Population Transfers, Awn Shawkat Al Khasawneh (today a
judge at the ICJ).

The Declaration appended to the Report, which was formally adopted by
the Commission on Human Rights and by ECOSOC provides in article 8:
`Every person has the right to return voluntarily, and in safety and
dignity, to the country of origin and, within it, to the place of
origin or choice. The exercise of the right to return does not
preclude the victim’s right to adequate remedies, including
restoration of properties of which they were deprived in connection
with or as a result of population transfers, compensation for any
property that cannot be restored to them, and any other reparations
provided for in international law. ` Article 10 reiterates the erga
omnes obligation of all States not to recognize the consequences of
crime: `Where acts or omissions prohibited in the present
Declaration are committed, the international community as a whole and
individual States, are under an obligation: (a) not to recognize as
legal the situation created by such acts; (b) in ongoing situations,
to ensure the immediate cessation of the act and the reversal of the
harmful consequences; (c) not to render aid, assistance or support,
financial or otherwise, to the State which has committed or is
committing such act in the maintaining or strengthening of the
situation created by such act.'(4).

Similarly, the United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on the
Right to a Remedy, adopted by the General Assembly on 16 December
2005 stipulate in part in Article IX:

`19. Restitution should, whenever possible, restore the victim to the
original situation before the gross violations of international human
rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law
occurred. Restitution includes, as appropriate: restoration of
liberty, enjoyment of human rights, identity, family life and
citizenship, return to one’s place of residence, restoration of
employment and return of property.
20. Compensation should be provided for any economically assessable
damage, as appropriate and proportional to the gravity of the
violation and the circumstances of each case, resulting from gross
violations of international human rights law and serious violations of
international humanitarian law, such as:

(a) Physical or mental harm;
(b) Lost opportunities, including employment, education and social benefits;
(c) Material damages and loss of earnings, including loss of earning potential;
(d) Moral damage;
(e) Costs required for legal or expert assistance, medicine and
medical services, and psychological and social services.'(5)
Since there is no statute of limitations applicable in cases of
genocide and crimes against humanity, the Armenian claims to
restitution and compensation continue to be valid to this day. Most
importantly, however, the Armenians have a right to recognition as
victims of genocide. They have a right to truth (6) and a right to
historical memory. Such recognition is a fundamental human right and a
sine qua non to reconciliation. For decades the Armenians were victims
of silence. And indeed, the crime of silence is worse than that of
negationism. International law will ensure that truth and justice
shall prevail.

(1) Vahakn Dadrian, The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic
Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus, ISBN
1571816666; `The Armenian Genocide and the Legal and Political Issues
in the Failure to Prevent or Punish the Crime’, 29 U. West L.A. Law
Review, 43.
(2) Alfred de Zayas , The Genocide against the Armenians 1915-1923 and
the Relevance of the 1948 Genocide Convention, Haigazian Univesity
Press, Lebanon 2010, ISBN13: 978-9953-475-15-8.
(3) Cf. Geoffrey Robertson, «Was there an Armenian Genocide ? » Legal
Opinion, 9 October 2009, London, ISBN 978-0-09564086-0-0.
(4) E/CN.4/Sub.2/1997/23.
(5)
(6);
UN Doc A/HRC/12/19, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights on the Right to the truth (2009).

swissinfo.ch – �Suisse
30 avr. 2011�

Charles Aznavour, oubli�u temps qui passe

Par Bernard L�ot, swissinfo.ch

Le Salon du Livre de Gen� recevait ce samedi Charles Aznavour,
chanteur, compositeur, acteur, auteur et� ambassadeur d’Arm�e en
Suisse. L’occasion pour nous de parler avec lui d’�iture, de
l’Arm�e, et d’une vie riche de presque 87 printemps.

Un hôtel dans le centre de Gen�. Charles Aznavour est venu en voisin
` il habite le bout du lac L�n depuis plusieurs d�nnies. D�ndu,
accueillant, la m� silhouette, le m� visage qu’il y a 10, 20, 30
ans. Et une vivacit�ue les ann� n’ont pas �uss� Avec toujours
aussi cet �nnant m�nge de conscience de soi-m� et d’humilit�

swissinfo.ch: Rencontrer les gens sans la distance qu’implique la
sc�, c’est important?
Charles Aznavour: Je rencontre r�li�ment mon public en dehors de
la sc�: je suis quelqu’un qui fait les magasins lui-m�, je n’ai
pas de garde du corps, je m� une vie normale, conviviale. Comme je
parle plusieurs langues, je peux en plus communiquer avec des gens qui
viennent d’endroits tr�diff�nts. C’est en s’appuyant sur ce public
qu’on rencontre tous les jours que l’on est le plus proche pour �ire
pour lui, aussi.

swissinfo.ch: �L’int�ale� de vos textes de chansons est parue fin
2010. Vous avez dit un jour que le chanteur Aznavour supportait la
critique, mais pas l’auteur�.
C.A.: C’est toujours le cas. Je ne vois pas pourquoi quelqu’un qui
�it un article me critiquerait pour mon �iture. Je peux �ire un
article. Est-ce qu’il peut �ire une chanson? Voil�la diff�nce.
Je suis tr�dur pour ça. Parce que je pr�nds que mes chansons sont
tr�bien �ites. Pas celles du d�t. Mais il y a eu une �lution
au fil des ann�, qui a men� une sorte de perfection ` pas tout �fait, on n’est jamais parfait ` qu’on ne trouvera pas chez beaucoup.

swissinfo.ch: Dans le livre �A voix basse�, vous comparez l’�iture
d’une chanson �la photo, un instantan�C.A.: Regardez, j’ai toujours un appareil photo avec moi. C’est vrai
que je fixe des lieux, des gens. Des photos que souvent je ne garde
pas, parce que quand j’en ai tir�’essence, cela me suffit.

swissinfo.ch: Beaucoup de vos chansons ont � �ites �partir d’une
situation r�le?
C.A.: Oui. Ce que l’on raconte, ce que l’on dit, ce qu’on perçoit. Une
confidence. Je viens d’�ire une chanson sur la Shoah. Mais c’est une
chanson d’amour. Pourquoi? Parce que j’ai crois�n jour une personne
qui avait rencontr�a femme dans un camp de concentration. Et qui
avait donc trouv�’amour dans le camp de concentration. Ma chanson,
c’est ça. L’amour est n�ans un endroit qui est un d�stre, une
horreur.

swissinfo.ch: L’Arm�e est le pays hôte d’honneur de ce Salon du
Livre. C’est donc �lement Charles Aznavour, l’ambassadeur d’Arm�e
en Suisse, nomm�n 2009, qui est l�
C.A.: Ça, je l’ai fait vendredi, pour l’ouverture. Aujourd’hui, je
suis l’auteur français des chansons et des bouquins que j’ai �its.
M� si je suis comme le caf�r� – quand on met la cr� dans le
caf�on ne peut plus les dissocier – dans ma vie et dans mon m�er,
l’Arm�e et la France sont totalement s�r�. Je n’ai jamais ni�es racines arm�ennes, mais ma vraie culture de base est française
et restera française.

swissinfo.ch: A ce propos: dans le livre �A voix basse�, vous �quez
largement l’Arm�e et soulignez votre lien tr�fort �la France.
Mais pas un mot sur la Suisse. Vous voulez nous fâcher?
C.A.: La Suisse est un havre. Tout est beaucoup plus calme, plus
pudique, m� les feux rouges mettent beaucoup de temps �passer au
vert et vice-versa! C’est un pays que je respecte et que j’aime
beaucoup. J’ai fait naturaliser mes enfants. Mais je n’ai pas voulu
moi-m� me faire naturaliser pour une raison de fid�t�La France a
donn� mes parents la possibilit�’avoir une vie normale, et
d’�ver leurs enfants. Je ne pouvais pas trahir cela. J’ai quitt�a
France tr�fâch�elle m’avait fait beaucoup de mal. J’y ai subi un
vrai lynchage ` pas aussi fort que celui que connaît Sarkozy, mais
quand m� pas mal.

swisinfo.ch: Vous soutenez �Les r�rb�s de la m�ire�, une �uvre
en m�ire du g�cide arm�en qui doit �e inaugur��Gen� en
2013. Un projet qui suscite quelques vagues dans la communaut�urque
de Suisse.
C.A.: Je l’ai trouv�ublimement beau. Plus suisse qu’arm�en, bien
que ce soit un jeune Arm�en qui l’ait conçu. Ce n’est pas un
monument aux morts, c’est un lieu formidable: on dirait une Rambla, où
on viendrait pour rencontrer une future fianc�

Aznavour, une �iture n�dans un mal de vivre. (swissinfo)
swissinfo.ch: Vous voyez un lien entre votre �iture et votre origine
arm�enne, avec le drame qui l’accompagne.
C.A.: Ce qui m’a rapproch�es difficult�des gens, c’est ça. Le mal
de vivre est l� On trouve cela chez les Arm�ens, mais aussi les
Espagnols, les Juifs, les Maghr�ns aujourd’hui, comme on l’a trouv�hez les Noirs am�cains. J’ai lu des po�s de femmes arm�ennes,
anonymes, et c’est tr�proche de ma mani� d’�ire.

swissinfo.ch: Vous avez publi�uatre livres autobiographiques, et un
cinqui�, �D’une porte l’autre�, paraîtra en septembre. Comment
relier la timidit�la pudeur que vous �quez souvent, et cette envie
de vous raconter?
C.A.: L’�iture est un exutoire. Parce que je fais de l’�iture, pas
de la litt�ture. J’ai mis du temps ��ire en prose, parce que ma
culture ne me le permettait pas. Il ne faut pas nier les lacunes qu’on
a eues ou qu’on a encore.

La parole, c’est autre chose. On vous regarde en m� temps. Vous
voyez les yeux des autres, leurs r�tions. Et c’est se mettre �nu
devant les gens. Moi je me mets �nu en sc�, parce que je suis un
com�en dans la chanson.

Pour �D’une porte l’autre�, j’ai trouv�e titre chez C�ne: �D’un
château l’autre�. On fait sauter le �û qui coupe la phrase et qui en
enl� l’�n po�que. J’aime bien parfois en r�rer �ceux qui
m’ont apport�uelque chose. L’homme qu’�it C�ne ne m’int�sse
pas. Mais l’�ivain, on ne peut pas le nier. Est-ce que je sais
comment �it Th�hile Gauthier, ou les autres? Etait-il antis�te
ou autre chose? Ce qui reste, c’est l’�uvre.

swissinfo.ch: En lisant vos ouvrages, on se dit qu’il y a un côt�aradoxal chez vous. Une vie enti� consacr�au spectacle, d�l’enfance, et en m� temps, votre dimension raisonnable, sage, ce
côt�r��pieds sur terre�.
C.A.: Vous savez, quand on est un fils d’�grant, on est oblig�’avoir les pieds sur terre. On voit bien les difficult�qu’ont
connues nos parents pour nous �ver correctement, proprement, pour
faire passer le mauvais �la trappe et nous montrer que le bon
existait aussi.

swissinfo.ch: Cette ann�est celle de votre grand retour �la sc�,
amorc�e printemps en Belgique et en Italie, avant l’Olympia cet
automne, une tourn�en France et un crochet par Gen�. Pourquoi ce
retour?
C.A.: La retraite, c’est l’antichambre de la mort. Je n’ai pas envie
de mourir tout de suite, moi. Tant que je suis encore capable de faire
quelque chose, je vais le faire. Et je serai suffisamment lucide pour
reconnaître le moment où je n’�irai plus des choses int�ssantes.

Plus j’�is, plus je r�ise que je n’aurai pas le temps de finir
tout ce que j’ai commenc� �ire. J’ai des tas de sujets qui sont
encore �l’�t d’embryon, ou �moiti�crits, mais je n’arrive pas �tout terminer, parce que d’autres id� arrivent! Le temps va me
manquer, oui. A moins que je vive jusqu’�120 ans�

swissinfo.ch: Apr�une vie enti� de spectacles, qu’est ce qui passe
dans votre t� quand vous entrez aujourd’hui en sc�?
C.A.: J’esp� que les musiciens ne vont pas faire de b�ses avec les
nouvelles orchestrations et que ma m�ire ne me fera pas trop d�ut.
Je n’ai pas le trac, j’ai des angoisses. Ce n’est pas pareil. Le trac,
ça paralyse. Les angoisses, ça �ctrise.

Bernard L�ot, swissinfo.ch
Gen�

,_oublie_du_temps_qui_passe.html?cid=30114170

BEST RESELLERS IN DEALERS NETWORK OF VIVACELL-MTS ARE AWARDED CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

Arminfo
2010-05-20 10:41:00

ArmInfo. VivaCell-MTS, a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems OJSC, today
announces the results of its Top-Up service in the 1st quarter of 2010.

The press service of VivaCell-MNS reports that Top-up is an
innovative, fast, simple and convenient method for recharging prepaid
account. Through this system, VivaCell-MTS prepaid subscribers, who
have run out of airtime, are able to recharge their account directly
from an authorized point of sale with the amount they wish, starting
from 50 AMD to 90,000 AMD.

VivaCell-MTS General Manager Ralph Yirikian expressed his gratitude
to the street resellers: "On behalf of VivaCell-MTS I express deep
gratitude for effective cooperation. You have a considerable input
in sustaining the high reputation of VivaCell-MTS brand. With these
gifts from the Company I would like to assure our deep appreciation
for the successful cooperation."

The deployment of Top-Up service enabled VivaCell-MTS to provide its
resellers with the ability to recharge the account of the subscriber
with airtime mobile handsets, eliminating the need for physical top-up
cards. The reseller/dealer receives the airtime from the operator
and is able to transfer this airtime to the subscriber through a
mobile-to-mobile transaction.

The Top-Up prepaid recharge system was launched on the 21st of May
2009. VivaCell-MTS has over 5,000 points of sales for recharge airtime
via Top-Up across Armenia.

During a special event organized at VivaCell-MTS’ Headquarters the best
3 top resellers from each marz and from the Company’s biggest Top-Up
dealer Press Stand network were awarded certificates of recognition
for their outstanding achievements and tireless efforts in Top-Up
Sales and received phones, TV sets or other consumer electronics
products. Besides, the number one Top-Up salesman of Armenia for the
second time, Lusik Sarikyan, was also awarded a valuable TV set and
a certificate of recognition.

In Armenia’s high-growth markets, voucherless airtime top-up
enables VivaCell-MTS to provide flexibility to its subscriber and
reduce physical top-up card production and distribution costs. As a
responsible corporate citizen, VivaCell-MTS has shown preference for
environmentally-friendly solutions related to its business.

"VivaCell-MTS is committed to providing Armenia with innovative mobile
services. Top-Up service enables us to offer full flexibility to our
subscribers which will be able to select the needed level of airtime
without being bounded to any fixed denominations," says VivaCell-MTS
General Manager Ralph Yirikian.

VivaCell-MTS’ ability to offer flexible, value-added services such as
Top-Up helps VivaCell-MTS to appeal to new market segments, such as
cost-sensitive and low-income subscribers. VivaCell-MTS is committed
to innovative services and solutions that enable rapidly responding
to subscriber needs.

VivaCell-MTS (K-Telecom CJSC) is the leading Armenian mobile operator,
providing a wide range of Voice and Data services. Since its launch
on 1st July 2005, in a short period of time VivaCell-MTS has managed
to build a nationwide network and a considerable customer base.

VivaCell-MTS drives the development and offering of innovative mobile
communications products, services and features in the Armenian mobile
communications market.

Mobile TeleSystems OJSC ("MTS") is the largest mobile phone operator
in Russia and the CIS. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company
services over 97.76 million subscribers. The regions of Russia, as
well as Armenia, Belarus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, in
which MTS and its associates and subsidiaries are licensed to provide
GSM services, have a total population of more than 230 million. Since
June 2000, MTS’ Level 3 ADRs have been listed on the New York Stock
Exchange (ticker symbol MBT).

VIC DARCHINYAN WINS 12-ROUND UD OVER ERIC BARCELONA IN AUSTRALIA

EastsideBoxing.com
May 20 2010

James Slater – A short time ago in Parramatta, Australia, 34-year-old
Vic Darchinyan won a commanding 12-round unanimous decision over tough
and durable Filipino Eric Barcelona. The Armenian-born southpaw dropped
Barcelona three times en-route to his clear, 120-103, 118-105,116-108
points victory.

Now 35-2-1(27), "Raging Bull" Darchinyan also picked up the vacant IBO
bantamweight belt. 28-year-old Barcelona, who retained his reputation
as a fighter who is both as tough as they come and who has never been
stopped, fell to 51-18-4(19)..

Darchinyan, who will now look for a big fight – possibly against this
coming Saturday’s Vazquez-Marquez IV winner – had things his own way
all night today. Barcelona, also a lefty, came to fight, and he came
out pretty fast in the 1st-round, even catching the man who has won
titles at flyweight and super-flyweight with a left hand to the head.

Generally, however, it was all Darchinyan once he got into his groove
and put the pressure on.

There hade been rumours before the fight that Darchinyan was nursing
a sore left hand, yet he landed the shot a number of times to good
effect. The first knockdown the southpaw banger scored, in the
5th-round, looked something like a slip, but the second knockdown
came courtesy of a hard and nasty left hand.

Barcelona, who was also docked points for low blows – in the 6th and
again in the final round – was game throughout and he tried to put
pressure of his own on the star fighter. Even in the final couple of
rounds, when he was hopelessly behind on the cards and knowing it,
the Filipino was firing as best he could. His aggression saw him
take another hard shot, though, and he suffered his third knockdown
of the night in the 11th.

Looking to get himself a last-round KO, Darchinyan almost succeeded,
wobbling the visiting fighter with another left hand to the head
in the 12th. Barcelona survived to hear the bell, and though he can
still claim to have never been stopped as a pro, before tonight he
had never even been put down. Darchinyan’s power will hopefully be
put to a much sterner test in his next outing.

A fight between Vic and the winner of Saturday’s "Once and Four All"
would be a very interesting fight (providing the Vazquez-Marquez
winner has enough left to be able to fight again!) as too would a
fight between Darchinyan and the winner of the Yonny Perez-Abner Mares
bantamweight title clash – which will be the co-main event on Saturday.

With a rematch against Nonito Donaire apparently off for now (maybe
even for good), Darchinyan must look elsewhere for a big fight. Either
of the two mentioned above would suffice!

ARMENIA’S ECONOMIC GROWTH REACHING 7.2%

Tert.am
20.05.10

Armenia’s economy saw a 7.2% growth during the first four months
2010 compared to the same period in 2009, while the economic growth
in the first quarter in 2010 was 5.5%. The GDP from January to April
was 777.6 billion AMD, according to a survey published by Armenia’s
National Statistical Service.

All the sectors, except agriculture, had growth during the period
under discussion. Even the construction sector, which was hardly hit
during the economic crisis and was having a negative annual growth
prior to the first quarter in 2010, has now registered an 8.8% growth.

Significantly, the industrial output during this period has made up
a total of 242.6 billion AMD which means that there has been a 12.9%
growth compared to the last four months of the previous year.

Energy output has increased by 14.1% while the services sector saw
a 6.4% growth.

Regrettably, agriculture has registered a 1% downfall during this
period. The retail has increased by 2.3% which makes a total of 189
billion AMD.

Armenia’s foreign trade during January-April 2010 was $1.4 billion
USD which is 30.9% more than it was in the same period in 2009.

A landmark 64.3% increase was registered in exports which makes a total
of $289.8 billion USD, while imports have seen a slow increase of 24.4%
($1.2b USD). However, the imports exceed the exports five times.

On May 19 the International Monetary Fund changed the pronounced
economic growth forecast for Armenia lifting from the previous 2%
up to 4%.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development pronounced a 10%
growth instead of the earlier 2% forecast.

ARMENIA COMES 52ND IN WEF REPORT

May 19, 2010

Armenia has bettered its position in the report of the World Economic
Forum (WEF).

Published for the third year in a row and covering 125 economies
worldwide, the report presents a resource for dialogue and provides a
yardstick of the extent to which economies have in place the necessary
attributes for enabling trade and where improvements are most needed.

The Enabling Trade Index was developed within the context of the
Forum’s Industry Partnership Programme for the Logistics and Transport
sector, in close collaboration with the project’s data partners.

Singapore and Hong Kong SAR continue to occupy the top two positions
followed by Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland in The Global Enabling
Trade Report 2010. New Zealand, Norway, Canada, Luxembourg and the
Netherlands complete the top-10 list. Among the large economies,
Germany is the best performer at 13th, ahead of the United States,
which drops by three places to 19th. China (48th) and Brazil (87th)
remain stable, while Turkey (62nd), India (84th) and Russia (114th)
drop in the ranking. Armenia comes 52nd in the report leaving behind
Azerbaijan (77), Ukraine (81), Kazakhstan (88) and Russia (114).

ERDOGAN’S BAKU VISIT REAFFIRMS TURKISH-AZERBAIJANI PARTNERSHIP

Today’s Zaman
May 19 2010
Turkey

Aliyev hosted Erdogan at his presidential palace in an official
ceremony on Monday.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have decided to establish a high-level strategic
cooperation council to further develop relations between the two
countries.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Azerbaijani President
Ä°lham Aliyev on Monday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
fruitful talks had been held during his visit to the Azerbaijani
capital of Baku. Pointing to Aliyev’s upcoming visit to Turkey in
June, Erdogan said officials from the two countries would continue
to pay visits and hold talks on political, military, commercial,
economic and cultural issues. Commenting on the content of his meeting
with Aliyev, Erdogan said one of the most important steps they took
during Monday’s gathering was the decision to establish a high-level
strategic cooperation council between their countries.

Erdogan said the establishment of such a council would contribute
to the future of relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan. Noting
that Aliyev had also informed him about the Nagorno-Karabakh issue
during their talks, Erdogan said Azerbaijan had always maintained
its positive stance on the matter.

"Azerbaijan has reacted positively to the Minsk Group’s latest
proposal, although Armenia has not replied to it yet. This shows
Azerbaijan’s positive stance on the matter," the Turkish prime minister
said. Highlighting that the Nagorno-Karabakh issue had been discussed
during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s recent visit to Turkey as
well, Erdogan said Turkey would maintain its sensitivity regarding
the matter.

Erdogan said his nation will not ratify a deal to normalize ties with
Armenia until the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute is settled.

Neither Turkey nor Armenia’s parliament has ratified the October
agreement to restore diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border.

As part of his program in Baku, Erdogan unveiled a statue of the
founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Baku with
Aliyev following their meeting.

Speaking during the unveiling ceremony, Erdogan thanked Aliyev for
the monument, saying it was very meaningful that President Aliyev
chose a location close to the Turkish Embassy in Baku for the statue.

"With every passing day, our political, military, economic, cultural
and commercial relations are developing. From now on, there will be
growth in Azerbaijan and growth in Turkey. The status of these two
countries in the global community will be transformed," Erdogan said.

Turkish State Minister Mehmet Aydın, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız accompanied
Prime Minister Erdogan during his visit to Baku.

Erdogan also said Turkish-Azerbaijani relations are getting stronger
with each passing day and that no one should doubt this relationship.

No one should pay attention to gossip, he said, adding that the
level of unity and brotherhood between the two countries cannot be
determined by hearsay.

Following the unveiling of the Ataturk monument, Erdogan and his wife,
Emine Erdogan, laid a wreath on the tomb of the late Azerbaijani
President Heydar Aliyev and his wife, Zarifa Aliyeva.